Karl Lagerfeld to design Estates at Acqualina’s lobbies

At the Estates at Acqualina, residents’ designer duds can match their opulent lobby.

Karl Lagerfeld will be designing two lobbies for the ultra-luxury twin towers in Sunny Isles Beach, marking his first residential interior design project in the United States.

Estates at Acqualina, a $1.5 billion project under development by Jules and Eddie Trump of the Trump Group, hired the famed fashion designer — who is the creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his eponymous brand — to design the lobbies to reflect his style, complete with custom features, finishes and furnishings, the developers announced on Monday.

Michael Goldstein, president of sales for the Trump Group, said the developers wanted the entrance lobbies to set the tone for the building, so they chose Lagerfeld, the “master of modern creativity.”

Eddie, Stephanie and Jules Trump

“When we started to create the Estates of Acqualina, we wanted to build the world’s finest residences, so we wanted it to be apparent from the minute the guests walked through the door,” Goldstein told The Real Deal.

Jules Trump (no relation to Donald Trump) and his wife Stephanie flew to Paris to meet with Lagerfeld and bring him 3-D models of the lobbies, to aid in his designs. Goldstein said Lagerfeld is now in the process of putting the drawings and fabrics together in advance of a January launch party, adding that he expects the designs to be “chic and unique.”

“I am excited by the opportunity to design the lobbies of The Estates at Acqualina and take great pride in knowing that the spaces I create will be such important spaces in the building,” Lagerfeld said in a statement. “Not only are they significant because they offer the first impression of the building, they are also the spaces where people come to socialize daily; they are like a common living room. My designs are inspired by the look of each lobby, the building and the destination of Florida especially. The climate is very warm there and I wanted something fresh.”

When completed in 2020, Estates at Acqualina will feature 265 units with three to seven bedrooms, in two 50-story towers, called Via Acqualina 777 and Via Acqualina 888. Units are priced from $3.9 million to 9 million, and up to $40 million for penthouses.

Next week, the Estates at Acqualina will open its $10 million sales center, which will feature a full-scale, 4,500 square-foot working model of an Estates residence, with a “petite theater” to watch a film about the project, as well as a balcony with a working outdoor spa, kitchen and fireplace.

So far, the project is 38 percent reserved, with more than 100 units or $530 million under reservation, Goldstein told TRD. Fifty-five percent of buyers are from the United States and Canada, with others from all over the world, including Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and France.

Rendering of the Estates at Acqualina

The Estates of Acqualina will be built just north of Acqualina Resort & Spa, which, in turn, is next to the Mansions at Acqualina, which was completed last fall. The Estates will include Villa Acqualina, with 45,000 square feet of amenities including a spa and fitness center, an ice skating rink, bowling lanes and a movie theater. It will also have a “Wall Street Trader’s Club” room where residents will have access to ticker tape, computers and a board room.

Outside, the Estates’ 5.6 acres of grounds and gardens will feature infinity pools, a FlowRider for surfers, a basketball court, a bocce court, a dog park, soccer field, a beachfront restaurant and 502 feet of Atlantic oceanfront.

Goldstein said having Lagerfeld design the lobbies will be “the icing on the cake.”

“We’re so excited to have him,” he said, “and for us to be the only ones in the United States.”